Spiral of Doom
by EternalRevival
Summary: Levi, an assassin, suddenly finds himself in the possession of a young boy by the name of Eren. Now the two are running from the police and the mafia, but where can they go when Eren is slowly dying.
1. Chapter 1

Levi frowned as the darkness of night crept across the city and the skylights burned brightly like beacons. Night has arisen and with it, the evil intentions arose.

Levi was currently in the city of Shiganshina, or to be more precise, waiting. He had received orders the day prior to meet a man on the top of one of the largest incline buildings which is also widely known for housing a restaurant.

This is where Levi found himself waiting when the man appeared before him, suit immaculate and shoes shined to perfection.

"Ah, Levi. You came," he said with a small smile as he sat down on the remaining open seat, although they both knew it wasn't an invitation Levi could simply refuse.

It only took one glance for Levi to easily spot the bodyguards surrounding the perimeter of the restaurant, and Levi wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it turned out that every worker and customer in that very room was one of the man's subordinates.

A woman had then appeared to take his order, but the man had simply waved her off with a small smile and a whisper that he would simply take a bottle of French wine, _Domaine de la Romanee – Conti_, to be precise. Levi narrowed his eyes and sniffed with disdain as the man continued to poor himself a small glass, and when offered some by the said man, had immediately declined.

Although the man always had a habit of smiling at you seconds before he destroyed your life, Levi felt no need for such formality and instead leaned back in his chair with a harsh glare aimed towards the mob boss.

"What do you want Erwin? I just finished your last assignment a few days ago, and I'm not in the mood for another," Levi spoke harshly although this only seemed to amuse Erwin as the said man let out a chortled laugh.

"Oh, I think you'll quite enjoy this one," Erwin spoke calmly while holding out a file towards Levi in a somewhat friendly gesture. "Let's just say the price can be compromised."

Levi glanced wearily at the folder knowing fully well that opening it could lead to information that would, and could, quite possibly kill him in the future. But then there was also the prospect of money. With a resigned look on his face and a deep sigh of annoyance, Levi took the folder form Erwin just as the man let out a smirk.

Levi then proceeded to flip through the files before placing the files back onto the table with a look of befuddlement and a slight edge of anger.

"I'm an assassin," he spoke gruffly with eyes narrowed. "I don't kidnap people, I kill them, and I most certainly do not kidnap annoying brats."

Erwin laughed before speaking in a slightly languid tone as if berating Levi, "Yes, I'm fully aware of that, but wouldn't you want to see your old friend again. It's not everyday that you get to return to see what you've done, seeing as it was you who-"

"Enough!" Levi yelled harshly while slamming his fist on the table. This causing the glass to shake in rhythmic circles as the wine splashed against the sides. "What do you want?! Surely this boy is useless to you."

Erwin was no longer smiling. "Useless? Quite the opposite I'm afraid. You've must of heard of it I presume. Seeing your familiarity with the Yeagers." This caused Levi to scoff in annoyance, but Erwin continued without interruption.

"Yes, I suppose you would seeing as one of your acquaintances is infected by it, but what she has is a copy and thus a weaker strain. What this boy has is something else entirely."

Levi stared at the documents for a long moment, pondering over his next actions before letting out an aggravated sigh. "Fine, I'll do it."


	2. Chapter 2

The Yeager virus. Everyone knows about it. It was common in the mafia, as the underground economy, to know every detail in a person's business and general vicinity of unlawful practice, to put it nicely.

But as much information is known about the virus, there is little actual knowledge of it.

The virus was developed by Grisha Yeager a few years prior. An apparently powerful and potent fluid with the capability of increasing the power, speed, and reflexes of the person it's injected into. The only problem is it hasn't been perfected.

The disease, as some people preferred to call it, has a side effect that greatly outweighs its potential, thus leading it to become a rather useless creation, and thus, a failure. Grisha, however, had refused to give up his work, and, being a devoted man, continued to relentlessly perfect the virus. However, the virus remained highly potent and dangerous, leaving everyone injected with it to die in a simple matter of days.

This virus, later named after its creator, became famous for its possibilities as a poison or toxin. But Grisha relentlessly continued his work, and later, he created weaker strains of the Yeager virus which were distributed to other branches in the science departments underground.

Knowledge of the virus had then spread to Erwin Smith, a mafia boss that coordinated a large portion of the illegal trading industries underground when not amusing his own consciousness or reaping benefits.

The said man had immediately taken a liking to the virus and had demanded Grisha give him the remaining samples to be exploited as poison.

Grisha Yeager had refused, and thus Levi was hired by Erwin to kill the scientist and his wife for a hefty price and retrieve the virus. But not before Grisha himself received word of the assassin attempt, and, in his last effort to save his work, injected the remaining virus into his son, Eren Yeager.

And this is why Levi now found himself standing through an open window in one of the rooms of a hospital located in the big city of Shiganshina. Levi had snuck in and was now face to face with a small eight year old boy. His large green eyes staring at Levi in shock as the older man stared back with cold, calculating eyes.

The boy pause for a second longer before his eyes brightened as realization seemed to hit him, and his mouth turned into a large toothy grin.

"You must be an angel!" he shouted happily after coming to this conclusion and nodding his head affirmatively. "You'll get me out of this scary hospital, won't you?"

Levi said nothing. His eyes staring intently at the child as he briefly wondered if Erwin truly needed the kid alive. Finally, after debating that the answer is indeed yes, sadly, Levi gave out a slight role of his eyes in bitter annoyance.

"Call me whatever you like, but it won't change anything."


	3. Chapter 3

"So, where are we going?" Eren asked curiously as he sat perched on Levi's shoulders.

The boy had the curiosity of a cat and a smirk that could rival one as well. Not that the brat needed to know that because Levi had enough on his plate already. In fact, the man had half the mind to just strangle the boy and be done with it, but he wasn't going to risk Erwin's _precious cargo_.

"Just shut up, brat," Levi snarled angrily as he began running again from the sound of sirens which most likely belonged to the police.

"Mom always told me that you're not supposed to curse," Eren said with a slight pout towards Levi which cause the latter the curse under his breath in annoyance.

"Great." he muttered to himself angrily. "Just what I needed, a kid who censors."

Eren tilted his head in confusion, somewhat appearing like a confused puppy although Levi refused to say the kid was somewhat cute. The two were know running from the hospital, and for some reason, because Levi certainly did not tell the kid this, Eren had apparently begun the think that the whole escape attempt was a game or perhaps kin to a movie he had seen before with his parents which he had quickly denied had given him nightmares for the remainder of the week.

Not that Levi really minded Eren's imaginative spirit because it simply meant that the boy is too stupid to realize that Levi had just kidnapped him. But that was fine with Levi by all means.

The flashing lights were beginning to irritate Levi's eyes and Eren seemed to dislike them as well as the said boy had tried to bury his head into the crook of Levi's neck in an attempt to block out the outside world, but Levi was having none of it. The older man had angrily jerked away from the eight year old boy and had warned him not to do it again might Levi decide to drop him. The boy was starting to become heavier with each passing second, and Levi suddenly became worried over his lack of ability to bring the boy safely to Erwin without getting caught.

However, carrying Eren is not the only issue that Levi was currently having. Levi was also subjected to the horrible torment of carrying Eren's stuffed teddy bear. Dang that brat.

The said child had demanded that Levi allow him to bring his stuffed bear along with him and now Levi was forced to help carry the wretched thing seeing as Eren was too tired to do the task himself and dropping it is clearly not an option, at least not with the police searching for them.

After having been able to dodge the police through the thick canopy of the forest near the back drop of the hospital, Levi finally allowed himself to slow down his pace although he was still slightly fearful of the police dogs. Levi hated dogs, period. In fact, he hated all animals, and the fact that they were currently being hunted down by such animals didn't help either.

It was then that Eren decided to wake up although he was still slight delirious and bleary eyed. His fingers clenched and unclenched repeatedly until Levi, realizing what the boy wanted, handed the child his stuffed bear in a somewhat exasperated motion. The boy immediately began to relax again while hugging the bear tightly in a warm embrace. He then looked around slightly before turning to Levi curiously.

"Where are we going?" he asked with another pout and slight tilt of his head.

Levi sighed heavily in annoyance as the buzzing of the police sirens grew more distant and the sounds of the forest echoed in his ears until everything tampered to silence.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked.

Eren didn't hesitate as he spoke in a confident tone. "I want to go home. I want to see Mom and Dad again!" he said excitedly in a rush at the mere thought of it. The young child having not seen his parents since he had been turned over to the hospital a few days prior. He was still unsure why, but whenever he had asked a nurse or the doctor about his parents, they had immediately clammed up and had refused to speak thus leaving Eren to wait for his parents return alone.

There was silence as Levi could only continue walking forward before speaking with a slight edge to his voice.

"Okay, I'll bring you home, and you can see your parents as long as you cooperate with me, okay?"

"Yeah! It's a promise, right?" Eren shouted happily with a large grin on his face as he leaned over Levi's head so the two could look eye to eye.

"Yeah." Levi spoke calmly. "It's a promise."

And Levi said nothing after that because he couldn't bear to tell Eren the truth. Even if the kid is a brat.


	4. Chapter 4

Levi knew from the very beginning that he should have murdered that bear the second he saw it. Forget the kids adoration towards the stupid thing, it deserved to die.

Okay, admittedly it wasn't the bear's fault. It was actually Eren's fault as the young boy was currently swinging the bear about happily while singing in the most off tune, wretched note that Levi had ever had the grace and utmost horror of hearing. Finally, Levi had enough.

"What in the world do you think you are doing?!" he snarled angrily while glaring hatefully at the boy.

Eren, however, seemed oblivious towards his cold, murderous gaze and instead, smiled brightly with a cheeky grin. At least he stopped singing although he still continued to swing the bear about in a happy manner as if her were skipping in the woods which only aggravated Levi more.

"Teddy's dancing to the song!" Eren said happily.

Levi snarled angrily while speaking in a harsh tone, "Just stop it. It's distracting and annoying, and it'll alert everyone in the area."

This caused Eren to stop in his tracks as the boy began to shuffle his feet apologetically. The bear, Teddy, suddenly hiding behind his back as the boy's face turned downcast in sorrow.

"Sorry." he said quietly. "It's just that Mom and Dad always laugh when I sing and Teddy dances, and Mom always says that laughing is good for you. I just thought that maybe you were sad …"

Eren's voice had begun to drift until the end was so faint that Levi had to strain to hear.

There was silence as the two stopped walking so Levi could glare at the young boy more properly. Finally, Levi caved in and let out a heavy sigh of annoyance which caused Eren to look up with hope brimming in his eyes.

"Brat," Levi whispered under his breath before turning away and continued walking deeper into the woods.

Eren, hearing this, flinched slightly before running to catch up with the older man seeing as he took larger strides. After a few minutes of running Eren found himself tripping over a gnarly root burrowed within the undergrowth and found himself being flung forward before face planting into the ground with a loud thud.

Levi refused to turn around and only walked forward when he suddenly heard the loud sound of crying. The man almost snarled in frustration upon realizing that the stupid brat was actually crying although it was more like sobbing. No longer able to ignore the child, Levi was forced to turn around where he saw Eren sprawled on the ground. The boy was currently trying to rub the dirt out of his eyes while Teddy remained forgotten on the ground next to him.

Levi then let out a sigh while recoiling out of disgust. A crying child was definitely not something Levi wanted to deal with. A _dirty_, crying child is even worse, but Levi needed to finish this job and if it meant carrying this annoying brat to Erwin and handing it to him directly then so be it. Levi had then reached down and grabbed Eren before picking up Teddy as well and placing the bear into Eren's arms before he began walking forward again in a slightly faster pace seeing as they were wasting precious time.

Eren had stopped crying as he looked at Levi in confusion, obviously having expected the larger man to simply leave him there. Levi, noticing this, turned to glare at Eren angrily.

"What? You want me to drop you?"

Eren's eyes widened and he hastily shook his head while Levi turned away in disgust. But even as Eren stopped crying, he was wracked with hiccups and his whole body shook by the mere force of it which only further irritated Levi until the man couldn't help but want to strangle the child because by no means was Levi a babysitter.

"Don't ever cry. Crying is a sign of weakness," he said harshly although he had said it in an attempt to comfort the child.

Eren said nothing although Levi could feel the boy trying in vain to stop his hiccups which Levi ignored in hopes that this would all be over soon.

**AN - Please R and R.**


	5. Chapter 5

Levi and Eren had traveled for hours through thick forest before reaching one of the furthest cities seeing as Levi was too exhausted to carry the eight year old boy any more as he was surprisingly heavy. The two had then found residence in an empty alleyway behind an apartment complex although the shabby brick building looked anything but viable to sustain life.

Eren had quieted down considerably and no longer seemed sociable as he stood awkwardly around Levi's feet. The man could easily tell that the younger wished to grapple onto him, but he now lacked the courage to do such a thing, and Levi lacked the heart to tell him otherwise.

The two had instead opted to sit on the dusty ground while leaning against the brick wall for support. Although, to be truthful, Eren was doing this and Levi was simply standing as lookout for any incoming police cars that he had missed. Levi simply did not mix well with dirt, and the mere thought of it made Levi scowl in disgust.

Levi had continued to watch when he heard the sound of shuffling feet and, about to turn and berate Eren for moving, was suddenly stopped by the realization that it was not Eren at all. Three thieves were standing at the other end of the alleyway, and with on quick scan of the area, Levi could easily tell that they had entered from a separate alley that had connected to the one they were currently located in through a series of twists and turns.

Levi simply frowned before standing in front of Eren in a protective stance, warning them not to bother them lest they wish to feel his temper first hand and possibly come across Erwin's fury as well. The thieves said nothing, their shoulders hunched forward and their faces drawn behind the hoods of their jackets in a somewhat lackadaisical movement although Levi, being long used to the world of the ugly, refused to let his guard down.

He glared at them harshly but they simply walked on by calmly and were almost out of Levi's sight when Eren gave out a sudden cry of horror which caused Levi to whip his head around, and that's when Levi realized what had happened.

The thieves had pick pocketed Eren's most prized possession. His teddy bear, who apparently had a name, but Levi simply didn't bother to remember something so trivial.

Levi was about to warn Eren to forget it and just leave it be because getting Eren to Erwin in one piece is currently his top priority, and he wasn't about to risk his life over a teddy bear, but Eren had other plans. The boy had immediately begun to run after the three men as Levi tried to grab his arm but the boy had already ducked underneath his outstretched arm and disappeared through one of the back alleyways.

"Shitty brat!" Levi hissed angrily in annoyance before running after the said child with vicious intent to kill the boy if the thieves didn't first.

He followed the echoes of Eren's feet through the streets before arriving at a dead end and finding Eren trapped in the arms of one of the large thugs. Another man holding the source of all of Levi's problems; the teddy bear. Although it was debatable that Eren is, in all actuality, the source of all of Levi's problems, but he was too busy glaring at the three men to bother with such notions.

"Let the kid go," Levi practically snarled for his sudden stroke of bad luck. This is exactly why he kills people and doesn't protect them.

"Heh, fine. But how about we strike a deal first?" one of the thieves said with his eyes dancing with amusement and pure glee at having caught the child and putting Levi in such a predicament but he was sorely mistaken.

Levi had run up quickly and silently before striking his hand out and wrapping his whole hand around the thief's neck in a vice like grip which immediately caused the man to let go of Eren who in turn darted away from the man's grasp and clung to Levi's leg in fear.

Levi, for once, decided to ignore this as he pulled the taller man down so they were looking eye to eye which, at the same time, caused the man to chock from Levi's harsh choke hold.

"I'm not in the mood for negotiating, so I'll make this sweet and simple. Die or get out of here."

The men, having decided three against one is not a fair match, ran, but not before Levi grabbed one of the thug's arms and twisted it until the man let out a scream and was forced to drop the stuffed bear in agony.

The three had then turned around the bend and had disappeared with only the echoing of their feet falling in step behind them.

Eren, meanwhile, had immediately let go of Levi's leg and began to shuffle his feet on the ground in pure guilt as he suddenly found great interest in making circular patters on the dusty floor.

Levi let out a heavy sigh of frustration before handing the teddy bear back to Eren and speaking to him sternly in a gruff tone, "Never, ever, do that again, or next time I'll let them kill you."

Eren flinched while nodding his head quickly before gripping the teddy bear tightly in a large embrace.

Levi only walked away with a large huff of annoyance as Eren followed, but much to his surprise, Eren had reached out and had grabbed his hand as if searching for comfort, and Levi, in turn, did not jerk away.

**AN - I have a definite ending for this fanfic but I'm having troubles getting from one point of the story to the next without it feeling too rushed. Any opinions or suggestions would be highly welcomed.**


	6. Chapter 6

"What were they doing?" Eren asked curiously with a slight tilt of his head.

The boy had regained his courage to speak about the incident and now Levi was stuck with having to entertain the boy seeing as Erwin wanted them to meet at the city of Trost which is no simply task to do on foot. He had almost forgotten about the experience with the simple minded thieves until Eren found a sudden interest in mentioning it.

"They were doing their job," Levi spoke calmly as he searched the forest ground for any signs of spies.

Eren seemed oblivious to this as his curiosity began to grow again, and Levi suddenly found himself forced to drag the boy backwards dare he try to run off into more trouble. This had caused Eren to turn and look at Levi in confusion, but nonetheless, he continued to ramble on with little care.

"What kind of job would include kidnapping children?" Eren asked curiously with his head tilted slightly to the side. Obviously too stupid to understand the severity of the situation.

Levi sighed heavily with bitter annoyance while trying to avoid the fact that he himself had kidnapped Eren. "People in my line of work tend to do that."

This cause the younger boy to turn around and stare at Levi with a slightly puzzled gaze. "Your line of work?" he asked.

Levi simply continued walking forward while ignoring the boy's question gaze as the morning light that penetrated through the cramped alleyways were beginning to thicken through the haze of darkness. Eren had fallen asleep earlier on Levi's shoulders, but the latter had refused to sleep in fear of letting his guard down, but now he was paying the price.

With a slight shrug of his shoulders, Levi stopped near a run down building before allowing himself to lean against it for rest as he allowed the brick wall to support him completely. Levi then closed his eyes in exhaustion as Eren turned to look at Levi with wide eyes.

"What's your job?" he repeated his question as Levi restrained a loud groan of annoyance.

"My job is none of your business," he spoke angrily, but Eren ignored this and continued pestering him.

"You must have an important job if your able to take me home," Eren said with a bright gleam in his eyes. Oh yes, the promise. Levi had almost forgotten that he was supposedly bringing the child back home. "So, what is your job? Is it fighting the bad guys?" Eren pestered on.

Levi snarled in annoyance. He was tired and hungry and was definitely not in the mood to tell a stupid bratty eight year old child his profession. But Eren continued to pester him until Levi was forced to tell him because what harm could possible come from telling the child such things.

"I'm an assassin."

"What's an assassin?"

Of course, Levi thought bitterly, but he continued speaking with little disturbance. "An assassin is someone who is hired to kill others."

There was a long silence, and Levi opened his eyes to check if the boy was still standing. He half expected the boy to back away in fear, and he was definitely waiting to see the boy run after realizing that Levi could not possibly be just simply bringing him home, but instead, Eren continued to stand there while holding his stupid stuffed bear.

Finally, the boy walked up to Levi and clutched his hand tightly as if he were his life line. Levi pulled away his hand in confusion, but Eren's grip remained strong for such a small child, and Levi was too exhausted to jerk away from the brat anyway.

It was then that Eren spoke. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Levi grunted out.

"Sorry for asking." Eren spoke softly in a grim tone with his eyes staring off into the abyss of blackness. "Papa always told me that a man who kills another has nothing left to live for, and you just looked really sad when talking about it."

Levi stared at Eren's still form as the boy continued to clutch his hand as if fearful that Levi would simply disappear the second he let go.

"Your father's right," Levi admitted quietly as he allowed himself to sink slightly to the ground. Only a man that had nothing left to live for would kidnap an innocent child.

But Levi didn't need anyone's sympathy, especially not the sympathy from a child who doesn't even know that his parents are dead and that the only person he can trust is their killer.


	7. Chapter 7

Levi could feel Eren's fear roll off of the poor boy in great waves as the young child trembled and drew closer to Levi as if the older man were his shield. Levi, in response, did nothing for he understood quite well the fear that such a heavily guarded place would exhibit. Eren, in turn, held onto Levi's hand even tighter.

The two had previously been sitting outside of a simple cafe on the outskirts of town when a small group of men in black, sent by Erwin no less, had arrived claiming to be their escorts, and Levi was left with no choice but to follow them blindly with Eren in tow. It was then that the two found themselves walking towards the grand structure of the Smith family estate. In other words, the end of the line.

Eren's fingers curled around Levi's in fear as the heavily stationed bodyguards near the front began closing the wrought iron gates of the large mansion and Levi, without his own consent, unconsciously tightened his fist around Eren's tiny hand as well.

The mansion had long ago seen the best of its days, and Erwin always insisted that the rustic age was what brought along the buildings remarkable beauty, something that Levi apparently had no eye for. In fact, Levi held little interest for such ridiculous things, yet as he stood in front of the large building with all of its looming glory, Levi suddenly began to have second doubts because there was no question in his mind that handing Eren over to Erwin would be the boy's death sentence.

Levi hesitantly glanced down at Eren as the boy continued to grip not only the teddy bear but also Levi's hand with great trust and determination in his eyes. Suddenly, Levi's hand began to burn in pain as he realized that he couldn't just simply leave the child. But he had to. So why did he still insist in his head that the answer is no?

Eren, noticing Levi's hesitation to continue following their strange guides in black suits, turned to Levi with a confused look.

"Are you scared?" he asked with a slight tilt of his head.

Levi said nothing in response as he continued to ponder over his sudden fear of bringing a child, this child, to his employer. Eren, however, took this as a yes.

"It's okay," the boy said confidently with a large grin in his eyes as he tried to, and failed absurdly, to cover his own fear. "I'm here so everything's fine."

Levi's face morphed angrily into a scowl because there was no way he would allow a child to protect him. He most certainly did not and would never need a brat's assistance, and yet, he worried. Not for himself, but for Eren. Who would protect him? For all the world knows the child most certainly needed it.

000

Erwin was standing over a large mahogany desk. His fingers lightly skimming over the many pages scattered across the stained wood of the table. His eyes staring intently at each page with intense concentration.

"Boss, the visitors are here," the guard said with a simple bow of his head.

Erwin didn't even look up from his work as he waved his hand nonchalantly in acknowledgment and quickly sent the guard away with a mere flick of his wrist. The guard then left the room in utter silence. Levi thus remained in the middle of the large round room with Eren right behind him. The only source of light being the sun streaming through the large window behind Erwin's desk. Two guards stood by at the only exit with their eyes covered through their thick, black shades. Arms folded neatly with hands curled behind their backs in what should have been considered a non-threatening gesture if it wasn't for the guns hidden within their holsters.

Erwin, however, still took little notice of his sudden intruders until Levi let out an annoyed cough and Erwin was then forced to look up with a somewhat apologetic face.

"So sorry to make you wait!" he greeted happily in a loud voice although his face obviously showed his lack of care. "So glad you could make it."

Levi frowned but nonetheless grabbed Eren from behind him and shoved the kid, rather harshly, towards the tall man who completely towered over the eight year old child. Eren let out a single squeak of surprise as Erwin stared at the boy intently, yet Eren's face continued to hold determination as he forced himself to hide his growing anxiety from the threatening presence that Erwin gave off.

"This is what you wanted, right? I still don't see what you can get out of him. It seems to me that the boy is just average and the poison doesn't seem to be doing anything to him at all," Levi sated calmly as Eren looked back at him in surprise and confusion.

Erwin glanced at the young boy one last time before turning to Levi with a slight quirk of his lips. "I must say, it almost sounds like your defending the boy."

Levi frowned in annoyance before letting out any angry huff of exasperation before speaking in an urgent tone. "I brought the child now give me the money." Before I change my mind Levi thought quietly.

Erwin let out a slightly amused laugh before snapping his fingers which immediately caused the two guards at the front door to snap into action. The two men had then grabbed one of Eren's arms and restrained the boy as he suddenly began to kick and cry out in surprise.

"What? What's going on?" Eren shouted in fear with his eyes wildly searching Levi's for an answer that the latter could not provide. Levi could only stare downward as he couldn't bear the thought of looking into the child's eyes. Not when they held so much trust.

"Levi?!" Eren yelled while trying to jerk away from the oncoming attackers and towards Levi in a desperate attempt to reach him. This, however, made Erwin laugh hysterically as the older man stepped towards Levi in a mocking manner. "Don't tell me the child has grown fond of you?" he chuckled out before letting out a slight frown. "No matter, we just need some samples. Perhaps when were done with him I can send the body back to you."

Levi's jaws locked in anger while his whole body tensed. Eren, however, suddenly began to realize the intense situation as he began to struggle even harder and turned to Levi was an intense gaze although his eyes were beginning to fill with tears.

"Levi!" he shouted in desperation almost angrily. "You promised you would bring me home!"

Levi refused to allow himself to flinch and continued to stare into Eren's eyes as tears streamed down the younger boy's face.

"Please," he chocked out desperately. "I want to see Mom and Dad."

Levi's whole body went rigid and against his will, tried to reach out towards the brat. Erwin was currently ignoring the small child and in turn had reached behind his desk to pull out an envelope which no doubt held thousands of dollars. He then turned to Levi with a small smirk before speaking, "Now I did say the money could be compromised."

However, even as Erwin spoke, Levi was not listening. His eyes continued to stare intently at Eren's until the boy could no longer hold the gaze and let his tear streaked face fall downward where it thumped his chest in defeat. It was only then that Levi turned to Erwin and acknowledged him.

Levi then quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a simple, black pistol before turning the device towards Erwin's head.

"I change my mind. The deal's off."


	8. Chapter 8

Erwin's eyes widened in shock before they narrowed again into amusement, and, at the same time; hatred.

"Don't tell me that this child," Erwin spoke while grabbing Eren's chin and forcing the boy to look up in one harsh jerk of his hand. "has you wrapped around his fingers." There was a sneer in Erwin's voice as he turned towards Levi with a harsh look of utter disapproval and seething anger.

"I never would have dreamed that you would fall so lowly and actually care for someone so pathetic, especially not a child."

Levi frowned but knew he could not back down. "Funny how things change like that," he replied tensely as Erwin let out a small smirk at his response.

"You never fail to amuse me." Erwin chuckled out before snapping his fingers which caused the two bodyguards holding Eren to release the boy and turn on Levi. "Which is why I must kill you."

Levi immediately pivoted his foot downward to give himself more power before springing upward and jabbing at the taller man's throat which, once connected, caused the guard to cripple over in shock at the sudden loss of air. Levi then quickly spun around to trip the second guard before pointing his gun directly at Erwin, only to find that he too held a gun pointed at Eren.

Levi's whole body froze as Erwin smirked in amusement.

"So this child does mean something to you?" he asked in a mocking tone. "Well then, I do feel complied to tell you that he will not survive very long. No matter how far you run, it won't change the fact that your wasting your life on a child that doesn't even have one to begin with. So how about I save you the trouble and just kill both of you here and now."

Erwin had then pulled the trigger.

Levi's found himself hurtling towards Eren and as soon as he touched the boy's shoulders, forced the two of them to the ground just as Levi felt a scorching pain flair to life in his right shoulder blade where, no doubt, the bullet and succeeded in piercing. Levi dared to turn around and glare harshly at Erwin who only smirked at him and aimed the gun towards the two once again.

With little time to think or react, Levi was left with no choice but to go to the nearest exit which just so happened to be the one large window which now stood directly in front of Levi. Letting out a wheezing gasp of pain from the aching flair in his shoulder, Levi gripped Eren tightly before flinging himself towards the window.

It just so happened that it had to be his right shoulder that connected with the glass which caused his whole body to scorch with burning pain, but Levi only gritted his teeth and refused to make a single sound while continuously holding onto Eren tightly.

The glass shattered around them in a flurry of shiny knives as they rained down upon Levi who in turn tried to protect them from touching Eren by using his body as a shield. Levi could distinctly hear Eren whimper in pain as he clutched onto Levi even harder seeming to have forgiven him for his earlier harshness once presented the opportunity. All of his resentment swept away by fear, and the need to trust the one man who had made him a promise.

The wind rushed around them as Levi allowed himself to look up and watched cautiously as Erwin stood by the shattered window. His hand still on the gun although his other hand was holding a pistol which Levi immediately recognized as his own which he must have dropped in his haste to grab Eren. Levi glared angrily at Erwin as the man smirked back and then the world around Levi suddenly felt hopeless as Erwin's figure shrunk among the hazy sky and the falling shards of glass, and the only thing Levi could feel was Eren's beating heart and his own shallow breathes of pain.


	9. Chapter 9

Levi and Eren had escaped once again through the alleyways between the buildings of the large city, and only when Levi felt that it was safe enough to stop running did he allow his grip on Eren to loosen slightly. The boy, however, refused to let go of Levi, but Levi was in too much pain and exhaustion to do anything but collapse onto the dirty ground below while letting out wheezing gasps of air.

Eren, in turn, shuffled closer towards Levi before curling into the latter's arm as if it were a blanket.

Baffled, Levi could only stare in surprise. How foolish and naive could this boy be when Levi was just seconds from allowing the boy to be killed? But Levi said nothing in response and instead soothingly patted the brat's head while trying to concentrate on what to do next.

It had begun to rain and Levi could feel the water droplets soak his clothes and penetrate his body until he could feel nothing but the numbness of frozen rain until that too became impossible to feel. He didn't know how long they had sat there in the rain, but he didn't have the strength to care. His eyes only watching sightlessly towards the ground that continued to stain with Levi's own blood.

Not until Levi could here footsteps walking towards them. This caused Levi to tense up and try desperately to stand and face any opposing enemies if need be, but his eyes were blurry and his whole body refused to move despite his urgent calls for them to work. It was then that the person stopped before Levi with only their shoes visible through Levi's inability to raise his head. The person had then crouched down to Levi's eye level which allowed the assassin to see the person's face.

It was a woman with messy brown hair and large glasses propped against her nose. She smiled upon seeing Levi's eyes widen in recognition.

"This is certainly interesting," she spoke out in a teasing voice despite the thundering of the rain. "To think you would actually sit on the ground, Levi."

Levi tried to snarl in response and his fingers automatically tried to swipe at her face in annoyance, but his body was to sore to respond so instead he tried to glare at her harshly which only caused her to laugh silently.

She then, wordlessly, grabbed Levi and pulled him up while allowing him to lean on her should for support. It was then that she noticed a small boy curled on the ground. His body obviously searching for the last remaining warmth that it could provide. Frowning slightly, she picked up the boy and then proceeded to walk towards home.

000

Levi awoke to feel warmth and a slight dull ache that continued to throb from his shoulder in painful waves. Having recognized that this was not the place that Levi had last closed his eyes, the said man had immediately jerked upward and flung his eyes open. He the tried to jump off the bed but his arm, which he had used to prop himself up, had immediately collapsed under the sudden pressure which caused Levi to hiss in immense pain as the shoulder wound flared back to life.

"I spent all night trying to close that bullet wound, so you better not reopen it," a voice spoke out from among the shadows.

Levi looked up to see the same girl from before which caused him to frown angrily. "What are you doing here, Hanji?" he asked impatiently.

Hanji only smirked as her glasses obscured Levi's view of her eyes. "I could ask you the same thing." she spoke calmly back while leaning against a wall for support. "What are you doing with a child that is infected with the disease?"

Levi's eyes widened as Hanji continued with no interruption. "I tested his blood while the two of you decided to rent out all of my spare couches. You should know I would have figured it out. Besides, you never struck me as the type that would risk their life for an average child."

Levi flinched before letting out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry," he spoke remorsefully which caused Hanji to lean her head against the back wall. After a long pause she continued speaking.

"What were you doing?"

There was another pause as Levi turned to stare at Hanji intently. His mind warning him not to tell her, yet he trusted her with his life if not more. The two continued to stare at each other for a long moment before Levi turned his head to glance around the room. His eyes resting on Eren's sleeping form underneath swaddles of blankets. His breaths coming out in a gentle, smooth rhythm. Satisfied that Eren is indeed safe, Levi turned to look back at Hanji.

"Erwin wants the virus."

That was all Levi needed to say as he confirmed Hanji's suspicions. The woman nodding her head in understanding before turning to leave the room through the same door she had previously entered, but before she could completely exit, Levi spoke up.

"How long do you have?"

Hanji paused mid-step before turning to look at Levi with an expression of pure sadness. "Not long enough, it seems," she whispered quietly before shutting the door behind her.


	10. Chapter 10

Levi looked up when he heard a low grunt and grumble coming from the bundle of blankets on the other coach. He then turned his complete attention to Eren who was now peeking out from the mountain of blankets and looking at Levi with bleary eyes.

Levi had then got up to check the boy seeing as Hanji had warned him that the child was currently fighting a flu in which she had berated him for allowing the boy to be caught out in the cold rain in the first place, but before Levi could step any closer to Eren, the said boy immediately jerked backwards with his eyes widening in fear.

Levi froze before retreating and sitting back onto the sofa which he had previously taken residence on.

Eren did nothing in response but only continued to stare at Levi intently before speaking in a quiet, raspy voice, "Are you going to kill me?"

"And what would I gain from that?" Levi said with a harsh frown although he couldn't help but pity the brat. Eren merely shrugged in response although his whole body remained stiff with fear even though his eyes betrayed him by looking at Levi with a strong sense of trust. It was as if the child knew he shouldn't rely on Levi, and yet, at the same time found no reason not too.

Levi continued to watch him for a few minutes before giving out a heavy sigh of exasperation and annoyance as he walked towards Eren and sat down next to the boy. Levi could immediately feel the younger boy's body freeze in fear but Levi merely patted the top of Eren's head which, after a few minutes, caused the other boy to slowly relax into the soothing gesture.

"I promised I would bring you home, didn't I?" Levi spoke calmly as Eren nodded his head in response before the boy leaned towards Levi's warmth and slowly began to drift back to sleep. But this worried Levi. They boy truly had no home to return to for the child had yet to understand that his parents were dead and that the building he yearns for had been burned to the ground by Levi's own two hands. And Levi hated the fact that the one promise that he wanted to keep would end up being the only one he couldn't help but fail.

000

It never struck Levi until this very moment how much of a nuisance Hanji could be. Correction, it had never occurred to him how much worse the dear scientist could get from her already bubbly personality.

The said underground scientist finding great fascination in interacting with a mere child which included laughing obnoxiously and playing with Eren as if he were her own son. The taller women being easily amused by the most simplest tasks that Eren was capable of achieving while at the same time commenting on how much more well behaved the young child was compared to the grumpy, grouch glaring in the corner which Levi had immediately hit her atop the head for the comment.

For a few hours Levi could forget that Eren was in possession of a potent virus that was currently killing him, that Levi is now a wanted man by both the police and his former employer, and also the fact that Hanji was dying, but as the sky darkened to dusk and the moon suddenly shrouded in ominous black, Levi was suddenly thrust back into reality and forced to remember.

Hanji had locked herself up into her basement without a word of excuse, and Levi could only watch her sadly as the scientist disappeared around the bend. Eren had curiously tried to follow, but Levi had immediately grabbed the child's arm and jerked him back towards the living room where the two were currently residing in seeing as Hanji's house was more of a small shack then that of an actual decent house, and bedrooms seemed near impossible.

It was there that Levi lay restlessly on the coach, his eyes staring intently at the ceiling as he listened for Eren's breathing to even out into gentle breaths and for the cricket's orchestra to finally dim into single chirps of solitude. It was then that Levi allowed himself to get up and walk slowly towards the hallway that lead to the basement where Hanji had yet to reappear.

He had then slowly creaked upon the door which was oddly silent before descending down the stairs in slow deliberate steps. The room was dark and smelled of musk and a pungent odor of death. The only source of light within the windowless room being a single candle which was already beginning to wane as the fire dimmed and the candle melted into a pool of wax. Glancing quickly around the room, Levi could see Hanji sitting on a simple wooden chair, her eyes staring intently at pages and pages of documents and former works over the years before her gaze turned upward towards Levi in surprise when the man purposefully stepped on a creaky floorboard to alert her of his presence.

Her eyes, hardened by work and frustration, immediately softened upon seeing Levi walking towards her. The man staring at her curiously before his eyes lightly skimmed the pages she was currently reading before he let out a small sigh of defeat.

"I assume you have yet to find a cure." he asked although it sounded more like a statement rather than a question.

Hanji gave out a forced laugh in response before shaking her head sadly in defeat. The brown locks of her hair falling freely with each movement.

It was a known fact for all those within the underground that Grisha Yeager had distributed his new unknown virus to all illegal science departments in an attempt to finish his unachievable work. Hanji, having gotten her hands on one of the exported genes, was one of those scientists who was given a weaker strain of the virus to study and analyze it in hopes of improving it for further use and attempt to finish Yeager's work.

But, as the saying went, curiosity killed the cat.

Hanji became infected with the very disease she found so fascinating and thus changed her goals from enhancing the Yeager virus to creating a cure. A task just as impossible as the mysterious disease itself, and that is where Levi found himself now. The assassin watching his former best friend struggling to create time that she no longer had the luxury to enjoy.


	11. Chapter 11

"You should be able to easily travel from here to the city Ragako," Hanji spoke happily while giving Levi a map and gliding her fingers over the many folds across the paper. Her eyes glinting happily despite the sadness still shrouded within the shadows of her face.

Levi nodded his head in understanding as Eren looked up at Hanji curiously. The two were being forced to leave now that Eren had fully recovered from his flu and the runaways were left with the knowledge that they could not stay in one place for too long.

"Will you be okay?" Levi asked with his eyes drawn together in worry.

Hanji paused to look at him in surprise before letting out a laugh of amusement, "Don't tell me the great stern assassin is actually showing worry!"

Levi smacked her atop the head before becoming serious again. His eyes staring at her intently with worry and fear because he knew that as soon as he left, Erwin and his men would find her and quite possibly kill her for housing Levi and Eren, and the mere thought caused Levi to feel dread.

Hanji stared back, equally stern, before letting out a large grin with eyes closed in happiness before speaking in a familiarly jolly tone. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Even if they come, there is no torture in the world that can get a dead person to speak. I won't tell them where your going, so your secret's safe with me," she said confidently with her fist raised as if to emphasize her point.

"That's not what I'm worried about," Levi mumbled quietly before Eren appeared next to him. The small boy tugging at his pants with gentle force.

"Why are we leaving?" Eren asked curiously. His head tilted slight to the side in confusion.

"You want to go home right brat?" Levi asked with false harshness.

Eren, instead of answering, turned his head towards Hanji with a shy, tentative look. "Will we see you again?" he asked as Levi looked at the boy in surprise for he seemed more interested in ensuring Hanji's well being rather than his own promise with Levi

Hanji's smile did not falter as she crouched down to Eren's eye level and nodded her head happily while patting the young boy's head in gentle fondness.

"Of course."

Another promise that could not be kept.

"Say bye Eren," Levi said stiffly before grabbing the younger child's hand and practically dragging the boy away by force. Eren in turn tripped slightly while trying to keep up with the taller man but not before turning around to glance back at Hanji and waved his hand in a single gesture.

As the two continued walking onward, Levi allowed himself to look back once more knowing it would be the last time he ever saw her. Hanji, noticing this, gave one last large grin that lit up her whole face in joyous happiness before waving and hollering good luck at the two. Only someone who knew they would die in a matter of days could smile like that.

**AN - Sorry it's so short, but thanks for everyone who has reviewed.**


	12. Chapter 12

It had been two weeks since Levi had last declared his betrayal to Erwin Smith and within those weeks, the two runaways had found themselves major targets to the mafia as well as the police who had yet to find the mysterious kidnapper of Eren Yeagar. Time had seemed to slow as Levi had decided to bring Eren to see the sights of the world that he had sorely missed when locked in the hospital. The child finding utter fascination in practically everything.

But soon the disease had caught up with them.

Levi had allowed himself to hope that the strain Eren contained would be false or possibly inactive. He was proven wrong.

Within days, Eren's health slowly deteriorated. His enthusiasm slowly dimmed and his breathing came out in ragged gasps of pain which sometimes left him in a sudden coughing fit. But Levi had no time to worry.

He was determined to keep the eight year old child out of Erwin's hands and away from the mafia in general, but there was no where for Levi to hide anymore with Hanji gone and the fear of the mafia and police hanging over their heads like a thick cloud. He simply did not have the ability to bring Eren back to the hospital safely and thus could do nothing to ease the eight year old boy's suffering, and despite Levi's insistence of avoiding the mafia at all costs, he had still heard rumors that Hanji had mysteriously died a week prior.

Whether it was the disease or Erwin that got to her first, Levi did not know.

Eren seemed oblivious to this as he happily stared at the aquatic creatures through the fish tank in the aquarium. His face pressed as closely to the glass as the security guards would allow. Levi, having decided to let the child have some fun, had brought him to a small aquarium on the far side of the city. It was slightly secluded and thus would be the last place with people looking for Eren or Levi's face in the newspapers.

But this also meant that this would be the first place the mafia would look which caused Levi to remain tense with a feeling of paranoia. Although, for a long time, the two were left along as they wandered aimlessly around the building, and of course, Eren's bear was irritatingly with them as well.

Levi was standing along one of the large corridors that had sections of the wall pulled out to reveal glass encasing of exotic sea creatures. Eren was happily staring at each one with wide eyes and a bright smile despite the sickness obviously having taken most of his energy. This evident by the way he occasionally would return to Levi's side with eyes closed tiredly, but once asked by Levi if he wanted to leave, would immediately perk up and run to another exhibit.

For once, Levi allowed himself to relax slightly before he felt someone bump into him harshly. The mysterious person's arm digging into Levi's right shoulder where they no doubt knew there was a gun wound. Immediately Levi was on guard as he turned around while sweeping his foot outward in an attempt to trip the person, but the person was far more nimble and successfully dodged by jerking backwards before twisting around Levi. The person, a girl, now standing directly behind Levi with her hand posed over the pressure point along Levi's shoulder and neck in a threatening manner.

Levi froze as his eyes searched for more clues to the person's identity although all he could see was the black coat and the single hand that perched innocently on his shoulder. The person had then leaned forward before whispering into Levi left ear so that Levi could barely hear their small quite breaths.

"When exiting this building there are four security guards that are currently working for Erwin Smith. There is also three suspicious workers at the front entrance of the building at this very moment along with a gunner right behind us working under cover as a janitor. I can lead you and the boy out of this safely. Do not deny you need my help," the voice spoke out harshly despite still whispering in a somewhat quite manner.

Levi tensed which caused his shoulder to throb painfully. This being a reminder that he is injured and would no doubt need the help, but years of working underground had also taught him not to trust others so blindly. It was possible that this person would merely lead him to a trap as well, and it was this idea that caused Levi to jerk his elbow backward which connected with the person's gut and successfully caused them to back away from Levi just as he reached upward to grab her exposed hand while he twisted her arm to prevent any form of escape.

Levi had then whirled around to face his opponent while his fingers automatically searched for the gun in his back pocket only to remember that Erwin had taken it. This causing Levi to curse in his head at his sudden misfortune before his eyes narrowed in on his attacker. The women had short black hair and eyes that stared back at him with equal hate.

It was a face Levi recognized all to well.

"Mikasa," Levi whispered quietly in surprise while releasing her hand as the younger women continued to glare at him as if suddenly wondering why she even bothered to save him.

For a long moment the two glared at each other before finally Eren entered. The boy's enthusiastic face riddled with exhaustion that he tried to cover when walking up to Levi, but upon seeing the tall women standing before Levi, had immediately cowered behind the assassin in fear.

Mikasa, having caught eyes with the small eight year old boy, had immediately allowed her eyes to soften in gentle fondness as she reached her hand out in a calm gesture towards Eren.

"Hello." she whispered quietly as she crouched down to Eren's level while completely trying to ignore Levi's presence. "What's your name?"

Levi snarled in annoyance as Eren peeked out from behind Levi's leg before whispering in a quite voice of fear, "My name is Eren."

Mikasa, if possible, gave an even softer expression of happiness before patting Eren's head happily as if he were an obedient puppy that deserved a reward for doing a simple trick. "My name is Mikasa," she said happily although still quietly as if trying to avoid scaring the boy off.

"Mikasa …," Eren echoed softly before he suddenly let out a wide grin. "It's nice to meet you Mikasa!" he spoke happily which caused Mikasa's eyes to widen in surprise before she too smiled happily. But before she could respond, Levi forced his way between the two with a gruff voice of annoyance.

"Sorry to burst through your happy land of rainbows and ponies but I don't have the time to listen to your shitty talk anymore. It makes me sick."

This caused Mikasa to glare at him angrily in response be she too nodded her head in agreement before getting up and waving her hand at the two in a gesture that they should follow, but it seemed exactly at that moment that the supposedly called janitor decided to let his presence be known.

"Hey!" he shouted angrily as he walked towards the group of three and a stuffed teddy bear although Levi still wasn't counting the darn things presence.

Mikasa stared back at him shortly before pulling out a simple glock pistol. Her fingers held loosely on the trigger before she faced towards the janitor and pointed the gun directly a the man's forehead.

"Be a good kid, why don't you, and leave us alone," she said calmly before turning to Levi and jerking her head to the side in a warning to tell him to run. Her eyes having hardened again when faced with danger. Levi then hesitated before picking up Eren and exiting through the door Mikasa had gestured too.

Levi had then turned around one last time to see Mikasa facing off with the unknown assailant before turning back around and leaving her to face the danger alone.

**AN - Sorry, I'm not really good at writting action and I think it's pretty obvious in the way I write.**


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